A Certain Magical Index, Part One

This action-fantasy anime steeped in religious cults and magic is set in Academy City, a metropolis filled with science schools, where 1.8 million psychic young people called “espers” are learning to develop their supernatural capabilities. Schoolboy Kamijo finds himself defending and protecting a mysterious, amnesiac young nun named Index, who claims to be from a Puritan English church but studies sorcery for the purpose of righteous combat. The 103,000 evil-spell books in Index's photographic memory make her a highly desirable target for a villainous society of sorcerers, and Kamijo, despite being one of the weaker students, takes it upon himself to come to her aid. Fortunately, Kamijo has one amazing and mysterious power that proves to be a formidable weapon in the effort—the ability to negate others' magical strengths. Over the course of the wide-ranging storylines, Kamijo endures much punishment (including recovering from serious brain damage) as he uncovers a plot involving vampires, discovers a cruel experiment that is killing esper clones, and comes across clues suggesting that the sect that trained Index cannot be trusted. Compiling 12 episodes that originally aired in 2008 on a dual-language set, rated TV-14, DVD extras include audio commentaries. Visually splendid, but also somewhat confusing and only fitfully engaging, this is a strong optional purchase. [Note: A Certain Magical Index, Part Two is also newly available.] (C. Cassady)